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G5 iMac, anything but QUIET

ebook said:
I wouldn't be too concerned if I were you. I have played around with a couple of other iMacs at the store and they really were whisper quiet. Mine seems and a few others seem to be the exception rather than the rule. That's why Apple is going to send me a replacement part.

Go ahead, pull the trigger and buy one!
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well I'm torn between 17 and 20. 17 (intro model) with superdrive is just what I need, but sadly is not a bto option...umm..it is, but have no need for more hd, more speed, fuster bus etc... 20 inch is not so cheap IMO cause it's not upgradable. But thanks anyway.. 🙂

...
 
I thought the problem with these loud iMacs was with the PSU and only when plugged into a ~220v supply but as people in the US seem to be having this problem I guess it can't be. I wonder how common a problem this is.
 
well I'm glad i not louder than my toshitba. I agree it's not that quiet but you'd have to have your music turned off and pretty damn late at night to hear it, which doesn't affect as I'm always listening to music.
 
I am sure they will work it out, this sort of thing was happening with the PowerMac G5s as well. I have tinkered around at the Apple store with the new G5 iMac, a few times over the last few weeks, and none of them was audible. Of course, it was a store, full of people.

Sounds like you snared a noisy one - Good luck and hold Apple to helping you out!
 
didn't read all the posts but...

theres some g5 imac's at my school, i don't notice any high pitched noise or anything. very quiet in the library. although i've played music gigs without ear plugs 😉
 
Average Decibels

Here's an interesting link concerning noise levels in different enviroments...

Noise levels


Average office noise is 50.
A quiet conversation is 40.
Quiet office 30.
Quiet living room 20.

At worst (35) the new iMac should be somewhere inbetween a quiet office and a quiet conversation. That's not bad at all really. I usually have something playing or some sort of background noise. I doubt I will hear it when I upgrade to one.
 
superich said:
CALL applecare's support line right away you are covered it is brandnew they should replace that one right away.
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Sorry, that's not the case.

Case in point…my brand new BTO 17" iMac that arrived last night. I got off the plane, went home, set it up and…noisy fan.

Just for clarification, this isn't like a deafening noise, it's a "humm" or "high-pitched whine" that appears to be linked to the fans. Even fully idle with nothing going on, there is this high-pitched whine that is just…annoying. It, unto itself, isn't all that loud. So, to be precise, it's not an issue of loudness per se, but instead the pitch.

As you use the machine it spins up and down; this is the really annoying part. The sound oscillates as you work. The next mouse click you know, subconsciously, is going to make the whining increase. You start dreading making that next click. It sounds silly but it turns the computer experience into one of frustration.

As you put more of a load on the machine -- like letting the computer play chess against itself -- the fans spin up to full throttle and the sound actually dissipates. How is this? The sound of air flow being drawn into the machine partially masks the whine! The irony being to eliminate the whine you have to make the iMac go as loud as possible.

So, I call tech support. I'm a nice guy and I do what I'm told; I'm certainly not going to get anywhere by pissing the techs off. I quickly get to a "Product Specialist;" someone familiar with the G5 iMac. She has me hold my phone up to the unit to "listen" to the sound. (Remember, it's not the volume, it's the pitch!) She says, to her, this is "normal operating noise." Before she can do anything I need to pack my iMac up and take it to a local service center and have a tech listen to it. This tech will make the determination if anything is wrong.

Next day I go to two stores. One store is a small mom-and-pop store and it's very quiet. They turn on their 17" unit and it makes the same noise. Now I'm wondering "is this just the way they sound." We both play with the machines and the tech there states now that I pointed the sound out to him, it is annoying. Store wonders if their unit is broken.

Next, the big chain, CompUSA. Their tech won't be in for four more days (!) but a random Apple tech from another store (non-certified) happens to be there talking with a friend. He listens to my story (and my iMac) and confidently proclaims it is likely the CPU fan based on the type of sound and location. I go to their floor model, a 20" unit, and put it on max brightness, Highest Performance, and full load (computer chess). With my ear less than 6" away from the rear of the unit, the machine is perfectly quiet. Granted, this was in a larger, semi-busy store, but I couldn't hear anything from the 20" unit.

Get back to my office and call Apple back. Get a different Product Specialist. This guys seems interested in solving the problem. Share all the info. He has be put the unit in firmware mode with the fans on "full blast." Then I hold up the phone and boot to OS; he hears the fans spinning down and the whining noise. He consults docs. He then has me record the sound with the internal mic and send him the file. He'll pass along to engineering.

So here I am, a brand new 17" $1500 iMac less than 12 hours out of the box. I've spoken with three Apple techs, driven to two certified Apple Stores for assistance and I am no closer to having my unit fixed. Is this the famed Apple Tech Support? "We'll let our engineers listen to it and get back to you."

How long am I expected to wait for them to resolve this -- if ever?

My personal opinion is this is a physical fan issue; the location would be the CPU fan. I've heard enough bum fans in my time to think this is a pretty good guess. Also, the 20" units don't appear to have this problem. I've searched the 'Net on this issue last night and many of the people complaining (and there are quite a few) seem to be 17" owners.

Bottom line: if this is the normal operating sound for an iMac I want a full refund ASAP. For $1500 and three weeks of waiting I'm a bit ticked with all this hoop-jumping I'm having to go through.

Very…frustrated. 🙁

- Don
 
Apple are sending me a new "plane" (???) to fit, I'll report back if it fixes my loud, whining, iMac when it arrives 🙄
 
One other thing I've noticed since I've had to work on this problem. The fans in the 17" iMac actually cause a small, gentle vibration on the back of the unit. Very noticeable. Appears to be the upper and lower left (from the front) quadrants.

The 20" that I played with in the store, on full load (256MB), had noticeably less vibration.

One idea I'm going to do tonight when I get home is pull my 2 GB of SDRAM and put the default 256 MB stick in; possible power/bus issue?

- Don
 
edesignuk said:
Apple are sending me a new "plane" (???) to fit, I'll report back if it fixes my loud, whining, iMac when it arrives 🙄
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What were your issues, out of curosity?

- Don
 
Call Apple

edesignuk said:
Apple are sending me a new "plane" (???) to fit, I'll report back if it fixes my loud, whining, iMac when it arrives 🙄
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Hey, did they give you an estimate on how long that should take to get. As you may remember I received my replacement midplane and had a faulty AirPort hook-up or antenna so they are sending me a 2nd midplane (third if you count the one the computer came with). I called them two days ago after waiting about a week and a half and they said those were back ordered! So, I'm still waiting...just wondering what they told you about expected delivery time.

P.S. My is the 20" model, so Don the 20"s have problems also! 🙁
 
I hope everyones problems are fixed, the ones I have played with at various locations have been whisper quiet. Sounds like the problem is being acknowledged though which is good. It sounds like the third world labor assembling these machines need a good thrashing. I keed, I keed.
 
ebook said:
Hey, did they give you an estimate on how long that should take to get. As you may remember I received my replacement midplane and had a faulty AirPort hook-up or antenna so they are sending me a 2nd midplane (third if you count the one the computer came with). I called them two days ago after waiting about a week and a half and they said those were back ordered! So, I'm still waiting...just wondering what they told you about expected delivery time.

P.S. My is the 20" model, so Don the 20"s have problems also! 🙁
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They said it should be here by the end of the week.

Jesus! Just found the instructions on replacing the midplane, what a mission!

Mine is the 20" too BTW.
 
Hmmm...

😱

Well that presentation wasn't thrown together overnight, I wonder if they had an inkling that this would be a problem, or whether that was prepared for people who with to replace items in the future?

I hope rev b solves all of these bugs.
 
if the mid-planes are on backorder then surely this is a major fault that either warrants a recall or this will at least fuel the rev a band....

im gunna wait a month or two to get mine i think..

oh and edesign i take it you have no dead pixels or anything
 
edesignuk said:
Woah! It's just turned up this morning! 😱 I only spoke to them yesterday afternoon 😎
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Okay, so you have a 20" with bluetooth? AND MINE IS NOT HERE YET!!!! Time for me to call Apple!!!!
 
Many people told me the Lacie d2 drive was ultra quiet. And then when I got it, it was loud and it had this really annoying pitch. And when my friends came over to check it out, they said it was really quiet. So I think that 'quiet' has different levels.
 
edesignuk said:
Woah! It's just turned up this morning! 😱 I only spoke to them yesterday afternoon 😎
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First, congratulations! 🙂 I hope this fixes your problem.

This is what irritates me, though. On this forum, MacNN, and on the Apple Support site you will find people like edesignuk who get their problem diagnosed amazingly quick and a replacement part sent to them (PSU or mainboard). Then you have people like myself, who have to struggle and go the rounds with multiple techs, being told that this is "normal operational sound" and having to haul our equipment into 3rd party stores for validation.

Clearly this is an issue that Apple is aware of. So why do half of us have to go through this inane hoop-jumping and the other half get their problem addressed in a timely manner? I had to send a sound recording in to the Apple engineers to have them verify that there's anything wrong with my machine. I have no "due date" as to when they will get back to me; I could be sitting here for weeks waiting for resolution.

We all bought the same equipment, paid the same money, and have (more or less) the same problem. Why are we treated differently based on the random tech we get on the phone?

In closing, if you're planning on getting an iMac I'd say go for it. I would, however, suck up the price difference and purchase the machine locally if at all possible. Make sure said store (like a major retailer) has an iron-clad return policy; there's a good chance you'll want to avoid the Apple Tech Support Bottomless Pit and exchange the unit if it has any sound issues.

- Don
 
Man all you guys should have just bought a Alienware Aurora 😀 Edesignuk i feel your pain 😱 what a freaking hassle i hate that garbage of talking to a foreigner that cant speak english on the otherside of the planet. This is what America companies are turning into terrific isnt it. Just for a side note my Aurora was built in the good old U.S.A. so take that you China supporters. it may not be a Mac but darn this thing can game.
 
Every time I think about calling Apple and blowing up at them I just try to relax and look at edesignuk's avatar. 🙂

At what point are we within our right to demand a functioning unit or a full refund?

- Don
 
Update: I've been exchanging e-mails with a Product Specialist and after becoming a little more forceful they're going to send me a new mid-plane. Engineering agrees with my assessment regarding the fans. I also gave them seven links to various threads from three sites (including the Apple Support Forums) regarding the issue, so they should certainly be aware of the visibility its getting.

I'll post results when I replace the part.

- Don
 
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